Super Power No More: Sudan Rejects Addition of Marines at US Embassy

Sudan has rejected a U.S. request to send a platoon of Marines to bolster security at the U.S. embassy outside Khartoum, the state news agency SUNA said on Saturday.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to disclose details on the troop movement, said Saturday that the objection held up the deployment of 50 Marines. A U.S. official said the Marines had already set off for Khartoum but had been called back pending further discussions with Sudan.

Another official, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, didn’t speak about the Marines but acknowledged Sudan had “recommitted itself both publicly and privately to continue to protect our Mission, as it is obligated to do under the Vienna Convention.”

“We are continuing to monitor the situation closely to ensure we have what we need to protect our people and facility,” Nuland said.

Smoke billows from the US embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday during a protest against an amateur film mocking Islam.

Smoke billows from the US embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday during a protest against an amateur film mocking Islam.

On Friday, around 5,000 people protested against a film that insults the Prophet Muhammad, storming the German embassy before breaking into the U.S. mission.

They also attacked the British embassy. At least two people were killed in clashes with police, according to state media.

A U.S. official told Reuters on Friday that Washington would send Marines to Sudan to improve security at the embassy, which is located outside Khartoum for security reasons.

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